Suspension rack



A. E. NEWMAN f 2,451,110

SUSPENSION RACK Oct. l2, 1948.

Filed July 26, 1944 INVENToR. SAQ/*gli- AKMA/vo 5 NEWMAN.

/4 TTOKNEY Patented Oct. 12, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUSPENSION RACK Armand E. Newman, New York, N. Y.l

Application July 26, 1944, Serial No. 546,622

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to mobile suspension racks adapted for use in closets, show-cases and the like, for accommodating a plurality of clothes hangers or similar articles within such closet or show-case.

One of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and readily operative fixture, adapted to be secured to the bottom surface of a support, such as the bottom face of a closet shelf, and which fixture comprises a xed guide rail or track within which operates a movable and rotatable rack member from which clothes hangers or similar articles may be suspended, whereby apparels suspended from the hangers may be readily made available by swinging or shifting the rack member to any desired position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile closet fixture in place of a fixed clothes hanger support, such as a pole commonly used for that purpose, with end stops for the movable rack member thereof.

The foregoing and numerous other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the ensuing description of the accompanying drawings, showing the presently preferred forms of my invention, but which drawings are by no means intended to limit the latter to the actual disclosures.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental perspective View of one form of my closet fixture or suspension rack made from plastic material;

Fig. 2 is the rider or movable portion of the rack;

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the guide channel in which the rider operates;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through an end stop taken on line 4 4 0f Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a guide channel for the suspension member employed in a modied form of my device;

Fig. 6 member;

Fig. '7 is a partial top view thereof;

Fig. 8 is a partial elevation thereof;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal cross section through the modified form of my suspension rack, including the guide channel and the suspension member or rider;

Fig. l0 is another embodiment of my guide channel; and

Fig. l1 illustrates a portion of a closet equipped with my device.

Referring now specifically to Figs. 1 to 4, in-

is an end view of the suspension elusive, numeral Hlv denotes a substantially channel-shaped guide member adapted to be secured to the. bottom of a shelf or the like in the manner indicated in Fig. 9, Channel IB in this embodiment is made from plastic material and i-s provided with a plurality of apertures for the reception of attaching screws. 'Ihe arrange ment of the apertures is such that both ends and the center of the channel may be firmly secured to a shelf. End screws Il, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, are employed to not only secure the channel to its support, but also to hold in place end stops I2 which limit the movement of rack member I3 movable longitudinally within the channel. Rack member or rider I3 is composed of a disc-like enlargement lll adapted to slide Within the grooves of channel l0, and from which enlargement depends a stem l5. Extending sidewise from the stem are two rack arms L6 preferably terminating in upwardly swung end enlargements Il. The upper edges of rack arms I6 are notched at I8 for accommodating and preventing shifting of the hooks of the clothes hangers, which are adapted to be suspended, from the arms.

Rack arms IG and their central suspension element or stem l5 terminating in disc enlargement I4 preferably comprise an integral rider structure, all parts of which are immovable relative to each other, however the body of stem l5 of rider i3 may be split as at I5' and provided with a bearing and central connection, as indcated in Fig. 2, so that the two rider portions may rotate in respect to one another. ySuch arrangement may be provided for either of the two modications illustrated in the drawings.

The modied form of my device, shown in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, consists again of a double chan.- nel shaped guide member Hl which is provided with at least three apertures I9 for the reception of attaching screws, of which the end screws 20, shown in Fig. 9, have .protruding heads, such as those of round head screws,` while the head of the center attaching screw 2l is preferably at and countersunk, being imbedded within the web material of guide. member l0 so that it does not extend beyond the bottom face of the web. Guida Y;

member I0 comprises an elongated, relatively flat structure open at both ends and having a substantially broad web portion and two relatively deep and narrow, rather flat lparallel guide grooves or guide channels disposed along its longitudinal edges. These channels are formed by bending the two edge portions of the web material upon themselves and toward one another so that the open ends of the channel face each other. Cooperating with channel member I is a rack member I3', comprising a double-armed, substantially one-piece, rigid structure similar to that of rack member I3 shown in Fig. 1. The guided part of the rack member is a relatively nat metal disc 22 operatively engaging, and being movable within and guided by the opposite grooves of channel member l0'. Depending from disc 22 is a double-armed rack 23, the arms of which are preferably of equal length,y and from the center portion of which rack extends a connecting element 24 provided with attaching ears 24', which latter pass through suitable openings in disc 22 and are bent over into the plane of, and are securely fastened to the disc body to prevent relative movement of these two vconnected parts.

Double-armed rac-k 23 and its connecting element 24 are preferably made from one piece of sheet material, and since they are rigidly connected'withV disc 22, the entire rack member virtually forms a one-piece, integral and rigid structure. At the upper edge of the rack arms are provided vsuitably spaced notches 30 for the re-l ception of clothes hanger hooks.

When channel member I0 is correctly mounted against the lower face of a support, a flat head countersuik screw secures the middle portion of member I0 in place, while screws with protruding heads, such as round head screws, attach the ends of the channelmember. Obviously disc 22 is first slipped into the grooves before the last end screw is fastened in place so that the heads of both endscrews form stops for disc 22. When thus mounted rack member I3 is bodily movable throughout the entire length of guide member l0 and therefore may be shifted either towards one or the other end together with any load suspended from hangers the rack may carry. Obviously, due to the roundness of disc 22 the rack member may be also turned bodily in any direction through a complete circle. When stating that the rack member may be shifted or turned bodily, it is meant that its structure in its entirety, including disc 22, con-V necting element 24 and rack 23 is thus movable.

In Fig. 9 it will be observed that two rack members are "disposed in the channel to indicate that more than one-of the rack members may be employed with one channel member, depending upon the length of the latter. It will be also observed thatY the round hea-ds of screws at the end of the channel extend into the path of disc 22 and serveas end stops for the rack members. In Fig. 9 the rack member at the left is shown with its arms at right angles to the channel, whereas the right-hand rack member is disposed parallel thereto. It will be clear from that figure that the rack members may not only slide within the channel, but may rotate bodily therewithin.

Fig. V10 illustrates a modified construction of my channel member, which is composed of two channel pieces connected by transverse bars 26, the latter having apertures for the reception which is attached my suspension rack, indicated at 29, accommodating a number Yof clothes hangers.

In each of the constructions illustrated, the

channel member consists of a relatively broad,

central web, the edges of which are turned towards each other to form two relatively narrow, parallel grooves in which operates the discshaped enlargement forming the supporting end Y of the rack member. The latter 'is preferably of a two arm construction, which is suspended centrally from the disc-like member travelling in the channel. It will be also observed that the arms are preferably provided with notches for the purpose explained above.

In eachof the constructions the disc-like enlargement of the rack member is limited in its movement within the channel by end stops which prevent its disengaging the channel. These end stops incidentally serve also for the attachment of the channel. The grooves in which the discshaped enlargement of the rack member operates are suiilciently narrow to prevent undue tilting or other undesirable movements of the rack member, whereby a possible wedging or sticking thereof is prevented. Y Y

' In both modiedforms of my device it will be observed that I so space the inner edges of the narrow grooves of the channel that they form a guide for the depending portion connecting the disc'member with the rack arms.V In the plastic 'l member is approximatelyas wide as the distance between the grooves of channel I0 so that when the rack member is in the position shown on the left-hand end of Fig. 9 there canbe very little undesirable tilting movement of the rack member within the channel.

The double-bar rack member resembles an inverted T, with the stem depending from the disc forming the central leg thereof.

While in the foregoing only two modied forms of my device are described, be it understood that changes and improvements may be incorporated therein, without departing from the scope and the purpose of my invention, for which I claim:

In a mobile suspension rack for clothes hangers or the like, a relatively wide, horizontal channel plate having relatively narrow inwardly extending anges placed closely to the channel web, a rack member having an upper, horizontal, relativelyL thin circular'plate slidable and closely tting in Y said channel, a relatively broad stem extending downwardly'and centrally from said circular plate and being rigidly connected therewith, said stem having integrally formed at its lower end a horizontally extending flat bar provided with notches at its upper edge to support garment hangers.

' ARMAND E. NEWMAN.

REFERENCES CITED y v The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED VSTA'IS PATENTS Number Name Date 290,735 Broome Dec. 25, V1883 669,413 Hilliker Mar. 5, 1901- 840,061 lHofman f Jan. 1, 1907 869,233 Drucker Oct. 29,V 1907 1,277,442 McCann Sept. 3,1918

1,370,275 Brager Mar. 1, 1921` 1,723,080 Robinson Aug. 6, 1929 1,800,387

Greist Apr. 14,1931 

